Washington Capitals Battle Buffalo Sabres 2-0 in Memory of Abe Pollin
By Pete Silver
OffWing Opinion
WASHINGTON D.C. (November 25) — Semyon Varlamov, the Washington Capitals 21-year-old goaltender, recorded his first regular-season shutout by making 25 saves against the Buffalo Sabres in a 2-0 victory Wednesday night that was completed without the Capitals’ star Alex Ovechkin, following a third period ejection for a hard shoulder check called boarding and resulting game misconduct at 3:38.
Defenseman Mike Green (#52) cuts off a pass from Buffalo Sabres’ forward Michael Grier (#25). (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
“You lose the most prolific scorer on the planet Earth, which is tough,” said Capitals’ defenseman Brian Pothier. “But you have to kill a 5-minute penalty. As Ovie’s skating off the ice, we’re telling him, ‘We’ve got this one for you.’ He does so much for our team. Every night, he bails us out. We could sure do it for him.”
Ovechkin put the Capitals up 1-0 at 6:24 of the first period, his 17th of the season. Shots came slowly, both teams playing aggressive, trapping defense. There were no penalties in the first two periods.
Alex Ovechkin (#8) scores in the first period to put the Capitals up 1-0 over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
Eric Fehr scored the Capitals’ second goal with 6:22 in regulation, redirecting Brendan Morrison’s centering pass.
Foward Eric Fehr (#16) scores at 6:22 of the third period, sealing the Capital’s 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
Prior to the singing of the National Anthem, there was moment of silence in memory of Mr. Abe Pollin, Capitals owner from 1974 to 1999, who used his own money to build Verizon Center and revitalized the Washington D.C. Chinatown area, along with numerous other real estate improvement projects around the District. Pollin died Tuesday at the age of 85 from a rare brain disease. Funeral services were held Friday and a public memorial service is scheduled on Decemeber 8th at Verizon Center.
Click below for a slideshow of images from Thursday night’s game and more from OffWing Photo.
Caps Drop Pre-Season Game To Buffalo
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 21: Goalie Jose Theodore of the Washington Capitals looks on as the puck passes by him from Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres during a NHL preseason hockey game on September 21, 2009 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing Photo)
After last nights 2-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres I walked away wanting more, not quite able to put my finger on my feelings. After a few more steps it came to me. The last time I was in Verizon Center it was game 5 of the playoffs with the Penguins.
Right…. it is the preseason. Last night was the the first night that Theodore was in the net. We also got a peak at line that included new comer Mike Knuble with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. After the game coach Bruce Boudreau let us in on a little secret saying, “The first time they practiced it (the power play) was this morning… we’ll start practicing that a lot more.”
So it goes in the preseason, the Caps were 0-for-5 on power plays, including a 5 minute power play over the waning minutes of the first period and the beginning of the second. For Buffalo’s part their win came from a pair of goals that came within 11 seconds of each other in the second period.
There are some good things to report. Hockey season will be quickly upon us and the intensity of the players and fans will amp up.
Enjoy a slide show from Monday night’s game below.
Caps Over Sabres, 3-2
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 26: Alex Oveckin of the Washington Capitals shoots a third period goal against goalie Patrick Lalime of the Bufalo Sabres during a NHL hockey game on December 26, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
The Caps went on a scoring spree going up three to one and then held off Buffalo to gain the win. Alex Ovechkin scored what would become the game winning score by slicing and dicing the defense.
“It was a pretty cool goal,” admitted Alex Ovechkin afterwards. “It happens sometimes … I just made some moves. Puck was probably neutral, so I won the battle. I was tired and I just fell, and I shoot. It was in, so that’s pretty cool. It was a great goal and I’m glad it happened to me.”
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 26: Alex Oveckin of the Washington Capitals celebrate following his third period goal against goalie Patrick Lalime of the Buffalo Sabres during a NHL hockey game on December 26, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
Caps Lose Heartbreaker to Buffalo, 3-5
The Caps played great for two periods until cracks appeared in the third period and the Sabres came from behind to score the victory.
So, I leave it to the following picture to tell the story. You see the Sabres celebrating a goal but also Washington’s goalie Olie Kolzig sitting on the ice, frustrated, in the lower right hand corner.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 14: Maxim Afinogenov of the of the Buffalo Sabres celebrates with teammates after his second period goal during a NHL hockey game on December 14, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 14: Alex Ovechkin celebrates with team member Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals following his first period goal against the Buffalo Sabres during a NHL hockey game on December 14, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 14: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Henrik Tallinder of the Buffalo Sabres fight for control of the puck during a NHL hockey game on December 14, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
See more photos from the game by visiting our Photoshelter gallery or our Flickr gallery.
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Caps Fall To Buffalo, 3-1
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 26: Jochen Hecht and other members of the Buffalo Sabres celebrate following Hecht’s goal during a NHL hockey game on November 26, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 26: Interim Head Coach Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals during a NHL hockey game with the Buffalo Sabres on November 26, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
See more photos from the game by visiting our Photoshelter gallery.
